3 Uses for Bentgo Salad Container - Other than Salad

Kendal LeMire (@kendallarae) is a Broadcast Designer, Animator, craft extraordinaire, and thrift guru in Richmond, VA. She strives to live a simple life that is homegrown, homemade, and healthy. You can find her on Instagram at instagram.com/kendallarae/  and her design at kendal-lemire.com.

GUYS. I am bound and determined to not make this year like last year. Instead of mindlessly eating cheesecake for breakfast—which, let’s be real, was a pretty magical week after Christmas—I will get back on track with whole, healthy eating. Step one in this process was to organize my daily routine and find an eco-friendly way to portion control. This is where Bentgo Salad came in. After a week, it has proven to have far more uses than just salad. Maybe they should rename it Bentgo Organize Your Everything?!

A typical workday Bentgo gets laid out like this:

For the top level: a slew of healthy snacks to keep on my desk through the day. These include raw veggies, like carrots and mushrooms; a small portion of fruit;  nuts or granola; and something tasty for dipping, like hummus or tzatziki. Lately, I love using dehydrated Banana Oat Brittle as a granola bar replacement.

Banana Oat Brittle

• 2 cups pitted dates
• ½ cups pitted dates, chopped
• ¼ cup flax meal
• 7 ripe bananas, peeled
• 3 cups chopped walnuts  
• 2 cups quick cooking oats

1. Blend 2 cups of dates, bananas, and flax in food processor until smooth
2. Mix in nuts, chopped dates, and oats until evenly dispersed
3. Spread ¼ inch thick on dehydrator trays lined with non-stick sheets.
4. Dehydrate on fruit setting for 8 hours.
5. After 8 hours, pull them out and chop into whatever size you prefer.
6. Place back into dehydrator for another 8 hours, or until desired crispiness is achieved.

The bottom level is some form of the previous night’s leftovers. Last week, we roasted apples, acorn squash, and onion to eat with pork chops and brown rice. It was a perfect Bentgo lunch, since it wasn’t soupy and heated up well in the microwave.

Balsamic Roasted Acorn Squash, Apple, and Onion

• 2 yellow onions, sliced into large chunks
• 4 honeycrisp apples, chopped into 1-inch cubes
• 1 acorn squash, chopped into 1-inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ¾ teaspoon ground sage
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Place all ingredients into a bowl and stir until evenly combined.
3. Spread onto un-greased cookie sheet and bake in two 20-minute increments, flipping vegetables in between each. At the end of 40 minutes, if vegetables are not to your desired softness, flip again and cook in 10-minute increments until tender.  

For weekend adventures, I’ll jam it full of snacks to prevent the dreaded gas station junk food binge. Fill the top layer with fruit, yogurt for dipping, nuts, cheese, olives, or any finger food. Then fill the bottom with popcorn.

And here’s where we go off course a bit. Outside of food, the Bentgo Salad is great for taking a few crafty things to a friend’s house. In this case, we were whipping up beaded plant hangers; everything fit perfectly and stayed in one place. The fork slot even holds crochet hooks nicely!

It may still be January, but I feel more on track than ever!